ABOUT THE AUTHOR
QUINN TYLER JACKSON has been writing since he was twelve
years old. His short stories have appeared in Amoret,
The Ampersand, Apotheosis, The Commuter Monthly, Distant
Worlds,
Drop the Buddha, Hauteurs/L’Être, The Kudzu
Monthly, Noesis-E, Perfection, Tickled by Thunder, and
Ubiquity. His three novels, Abadoun, The Succubus
Sea, and Janus Incubus, are available on http://www.amazon.co.uk/.
In
early 2003, Jackson was awarded the first annual Mega Foundation
Literary Award for the body of his work. Mega
Press will soon be announcing release of Shatterlines:
The Collected Literary Works of Quinn Tyler Jackson at
http://www.megasociety.net/MegaPress/.
At various times
in his life, Jackson has been a gas jockey, silkscreener’s
apprentice, bookstore clerk, freelance editor, literary
agent, research programmer, computer consultant,
professor of information technology, and stay at home father.
He lives with his wife and three children in Port Coquitlam,
Canada, where he continues to nurture his lifelong fascination
with language.
EXCERPT FROM THE INTRODUCTION
. . .
A brain surgeon and a writer are sitting over drinks at
a fundraising dinner for their local art gallery. Upon
learning what his drinking companion does for a living,
the brain surgeon says to the writer, “I plan on
writing one day. Any pointers you can give me?” and
the writer replies, “Hey, that’s great! I plan
on doing brain surgery one day. Any pointers you can give
me?”
This book is not a compilation of rules that
will somehow turn a lumberjack, grocery clerk, dentist,
lawyer, or even
a brain surgeon into a writer. This is not to say that
it is not my hope that a lumberjack, grocery clerk, dentist,
lawyer, or brain surgeon will get something useful out
of what will be presented. They simply will not get a list
of Dos and Don’ts about short story writing. Writing
does not work that way.
This book is also not about how
to get your short stories published. Marketing of writing
deserves its own book,
and so I shall not speak on it here.
Instead, this book
will examine in some detail the art of writing tight,
coherent, meaningful short fiction,
however that applies to you as a writer of the form.
New ideas
offered, old ideas re-examined, and suggestions for
artistic growth, but no hard and fast formulas or rules
will be
offered.
Enjoy the drink.
REVIEWS
of ON WRITING THE SHORT STORY: A MAD TEA PARTY
To come . . .
OTHER REVIEWS and COMMENTS
... of Abadoun, Jackson's first novel:
"What impresses me about Jackson’s work is
that he recognizes the role of work in art and seriously
works
at it with thought and sensitivity. It is also scholarly:
like a mathematician, addressing all the possibilities
critically." – Fred Candelaria, Founder
and Editor of The West Coast Review (1966-1986), Poet
"With great precision and attention to detail, the
author makes this complex area of the world come alive
in the
reader's imagination – but this is merely one amongst
several strokes of authorial genius which fall between
the covers of this fine book; there also occur intriguing
and beautifully-rendered sidelong shifts and actual reversals
of time, space, and perspective, many of which allow for
different interpretations of the main characters' thoughts
and deeds, and all of which defy easy description but are
consummately achieved. The author is particularly adept
at conveying the strangely altered and slippery nature
of a person's conception of Time during periods of psychological
and social upheaval. [...] [The character of Ahmad Mehrdadi],
who by his eccentric though charming reliance on always
remaining 'practical', while retaining a complete and blissful
unawareness of any future consequence that might result,
reminds one in a pleasant and stimulating way of V. S.
Naipaul's Mr. Biswas. And such a creation is exactly what
is meant by many modern, professional critics when they
clamor for more 'living, breathing, and fully-realized'
characters.
"Without exaggeration, one is reminded by the main
narrator's drifting about the streets of Abadoun of the
wanderings
of an altogether different kind of outsider, one named
Bloom, amongst the far-off streets of Dublin...." – Review
in Drop the Buddha
"I have read famous books less well written than
Abadoun. The book is dense with meaning and gives a feel
of a very
different culture. In addition, it has a strong element
of suspense. The reader ends up caring for the people in
the novel. In a time where thin stories are presented as
600 page books ... Jackson’s gift of brevity is refreshing
and most appreciated." – Dr. Bjarne
Stroustrup, Inventor of C++
"Jackson's technique of viewing the events from the
... perspectives of multiple characters without the intrusion
of [third] person narrators, and within the unique voice
of each character, gives the reader multiple and unique
perspectives on the same events along the timeline, as
these lives intersect with brief finality. If Picasso had
brought his concept of multiple concurrent viewpoints to
literature instead of painting and sculpture, a brief tableau
akin to Abadoun might be the result." – Keith
Krebs, Persistence-of-Vision Image Services, Formerly a
Campaign Consultant and Policy Analyst in areas of: International
Relations, Military Policy, and Technology
... of Janus
Incubus:
"... beautiful narrative that surpasses James Joyce
in clarity and hunger." – C. Wigtil, Reviewer
"[Jackson's] work shows a ruthless and critical eye
and artistic judgment at work – with resulting powerful
effects...." – Marc Ponomareff, formerly
editor of Drop the Buddha and The Ampersand
"[Janus Incubus] offers readers a unique cautionary perspective
that can only be accurately portrayed by an insider...." – Dr.
Gina Lynne LoSasso, Neuropsychologist, Director of the
Mega Foundation, in her afterword to the novel
"Mark, the protagonist of Janus Incubus, is a gifted
young writer struggling with the double edged, double faced
nature
of his talents, confronting sometimes overwhelmingly intense
feelings. [...] Part of the value for the reader is that
Mark is willing to keep asking questions about his creative
work and his both charmed and conflicted life. An often
charismatic charmer, he gains the affection and support
of others on his journeys, but is also led at times to
act in dangerously self-defeating, even self-destructive
ways. [...] This combination of sensitivities and
behavior can be symptomatic of borderline personality disorder,
though some therapists are saying that label is too reductive
and stigmatizing. In an interview, author Jackson said
it was his intention to 'humanize this often misunderstood
problem.' In creating the story of Mark, he has done so,
helping us glimpse it from the inside." – Douglas
Eby, MS, in review on Talent Development Resources
... of
Jackson's writing in general:
"Quinn’s extraordinary mind reveals its many
striking facets through his impressive command of language.
His
prose varies effortlessly from lean to well-marbled, his
characters often seem to emerge out of the reader’s
own lost memory, and although his stories go down as easily
as springwater, they leave in the mind a sweet and haunting
aftertaste. His poetry is unique in the way it stimulates
the neurons, capturing rare moods like exotic butterflies
in artfully-woven nets of word and concept. The work of
Quinn Tyler Jackson comes very highly recommended." – Christopher
Michael Langan, President, Mega Foundation, upon announcing
Jackson's winning the 2003 Mega Foundation Literary
Award.
"Quinn Tyler Jackson’s writings are always full of
mind-boggling images and ideas, wreathed in beauty, subtlety,
breadth, and insight. The eclectic Jackson is both a technologist
and poet, and with the cold logic of the one and the inspired
vision of the other, he is sure to stimulate your imagination
and sense of wonder at the incredible vastness of our universe." – Dr.
Cliff Pickover, author of The Paradox of God and The
Science of Omniscience and many other books
"Quinn Tyler Jackson is truly a phenomenal individual.
He has talents in so many areas and is a literary genius
of
Nobel caliber." – Dr. Gina LoSasso,
Executive Director and Vice President of the Mega Foundation,
on
hearing the news of Jackson's entry into Phenomenal Men
of the Web.
"'The Vitruvian' is absolutely fabulous. Well conceived,
nicely written. I have a theory about stories.... We write
them to find the gems hidden in the idea. Sometimes there
is only one, sometimes there are many. Once in a great
while – we find a nearly perfect one. I think this
story is one of those...." – Lisa Binkley,
Submissions Editor, Distant Worlds: Science Fiction On-Line
"[Jackson's stories] have been instrumental in helping
this publication uphold the literary aspect of its mission...." – The
Kudzu Monthly
